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UK university launches global food insecurity lab

A university lab dedicated to exploring food and nutrition insecurity has found that if no climate action is taken, heatwave events may cause global food insecurity to rise by 12.8 percentage points.

This was one of the findings from a food (in)security lab established by the Grantham Research Institute (GRI) on Climate Change and the Environment at the UK’s London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The lab has analysed examples of practical food policy guidance, effective partnerships, and improving access to nutrition across developing countries, including in Africa.

Climate change and food insecurity

The Climate Vulnerability Monitor (CVM), which measures the effects of human-induced climate change, explores effective solutions to improve access to food and nutrition. The LSE’s GRI analysed this in the context of food insecurity.

“Our findings suggest that if no climate action is taken, the increase in heatwave events is projected to cause global food insecurity to rise by 12.8 percentage points,” said the LSE’s GRI.

“We now have considerable evidence that climate change is already having a negative impact on food security, making it harder for lower-income countries across the globe to achieve sustainable development goal two, zero hunger,” Professor Elizabeth Robinson, director of GRI, told Ingredients Network.

“Increasing extremes of weather and climate, including droughts, floods, and heatwaves, harm crop yields, disrupt supply chains, and make it harder for people to access affordable and nutritious foods.”

Implementing targeted safety nets

The university’s food (in)security lab is exploring new methods designed to enhance global food nutrition and security.

With collaboration at its core, LSE strives to utilise optimum quantitative and qualitative data at local and international levels, with the right expertise to co-develop and co-produce new approaches that enhance security. By adopting this approach, LSE aims to pioneer pathways informed by science that, amid climate change, lead to fair and efficient food policies and regulations.

“Access to food can be improved through targeted safety nets, either in the form of direct cash payments or food assistance,” Dr Shouro Dasgupta, scientist at GRI, told Ingredients Network.

“In many lower-income countries, safety nets are increasingly seen as a critical element of improving food and nutritional security. However, these safety nets need to be made climate-proof.”

The food (in)security lab aims to assemble a credible evidence base to enhance the efficacy of social safety nets in an increasingly climate-insecure world.

Pursuing practical food and nutrition security methods

Elsewhere in Africa, countries are battling to address the impacts of climate change.

The GRI examined Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sub-Saharan Africa to understand the practical applications needed to enhance security in food and nutrition.

Egypt’s food industry is characterised by a high reliance on imports, which, for example, account for more than 60% of the country’s wheat consumption. Due to its non-domestic dependence, Egypt is vulnerable to shocks and crises relating to climate change and weather disruption throughout global supply chains.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia are also facing the triple burden of malnutrition, which includes overnutrition, undernutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies.

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced guidelines for countries to implement the Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS). As part of the United Nations International Multiple Micronutrient Antenatal Preparation (UNIMMAP) MMS specification, it sets out 15 vitamins and minerals.

The GRI’s food (in)security lab is currently developing evidence to support the introduction and growth of MMS as a strategy to address maternal undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.

In Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, the lab is conducting research to combat nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions among adolescent girls and young mothers. The project is developing scientific approaches and strategies designed to enhance dietary diversity and micronutrient intake using fortified foods, supplements, and nutrition education. It also aims to improve resilience and lower intergenerational cycles of malnutrition.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the GRI is undertaking a project geared at generating private-sector engagement for nutrition via investment and innovation. It seeks to help businesses develop and scale affordable and nutritious food items.